The Gem Itself
by Zaroos
Summary: It takes one encounter in the rain for Pearl and Peridot to finally understand each other, but they soon discover that they could be more than just friends.
1. Chapter 1

It was raining when she stepped out of the temple. The rain was one of the aspects of Earth that she only understood in a sort of scientific sense. She never understood the significance humans put into the rain. Human wrote poems and songs about something so unimportant; they were nothing more than just condensed water droplets. Yet, as she stood in on the beach feeling the raindrops against her skin, she attempted to see what made them special.

It was the middle of the night, and she knew the rest were either sleeping or working on things in their own domains in the temple. She had passed Steven on her way back to the door. She took a moment to observe his face before she left: He looked at peace with one of his small hands hanging limply off the edge of the bed and the other clutching a small bear he had won at the boardwalk a few days ago. Pearl noticed that despite his insistence that he had outgrown toys and stuffed animals, she had caught him on occasions sleeping with such things. She smiled and tried her hardest to be silent as she pulled the door open and stepped out.

She walked along the beach as more of those water droplets fell from the sky and clung to the sand. Beach City was silent and Pearl didn't expect to see a single human wandering the streets. At that same time, she understood how unpredictable humans were. Perhaps one of them was out pacing the streets and thinking as she did. She kept walking.

Pearl thought of Rose for a moment. She wondered what Rose with her capacity for love would think about all of this. She imagined telling Rose about the ship and how Peridot joined the Crystal Gems. Rose would have laughed a deep laugh as she would when she heard something that amused her. She would have asked Pearl to go on and tell her about it all in more detail. She would insist on meeting Peridot. She would insist on seeing Steven. She stopped when she realized that her lips were moving and that she was explaining all of this to no one in particular.

She stood just outside of Beach City, right where the beach touched the little town of homes and shops. It was just as she had thought; the town was empty. She thought about the humans. They were just like this rain, she thought. They were, in the grand scheme of the universe, small, fleeting, and insignificant. Yet, both of them had a something about them that was difficult to define. There was something about both of them worth preserving. Something Rose saw that she couldn't.

As she turned to walk back to the temple, she saw a small figure dash behind a bolder. Pearl jumped in surprise. Was it another wild Gem? Pear summoned her trident fully prepared to fight whatever it was. She hesitated a moment before leaping over the boulder and behind the figure. She turned and began to lunge towards the thing with all of her strength. However, before her spear made contact Pearl stopped short; It was Peridot.

"What?! What are you doing here?!," Pear shouted, her voice sounding half confused and half furious, her trident transforming into a beam of light and vanishing.

Peridot stared in shock and fear for a moment before forcing a smile onto her face. "Can't you tell? I was inspecting these masses of cooled earth magma."

"You mean you were looking at rocks," Pearl began to look at Peridot incredulously. She had already seen Peridot take samples of rocks by the beach, investigate them, become disinterested, and abandon the pursuit all in one day.

"Of course!" Peridot shouted her smile becoming wider as she spoke. "I wanted to see how they responded to humidity." She began to look intently at the boulder for a few seconds before looking back at Pearl. "Just as I suspected. No change. Well, goodnight Pearl." Peridot quickly tried to walk away before feeling a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh no you don't," Pearl said making sure her grip on the small, green, gem was firm enough to keep her from escaping. "You were spying on me. Weren't you?"

Peridot turned, her smile still there, but showing signs of waning. "Me? Spying? Never. I'd never spy on anyone. I fact, what is spying? I have no idea what that word means," Peridot spoke hurriedly as Pearl began to look at her with traces of frustration in her eyes. "You don't believe me?"

"No. I don't," Pearl spoke sternly. She knew that Peridot was watching her. There were only two questions she needed to get out of her: why was she spying on her and for how long.

"Well…You should," Peridot said hesitantly. "You know, I don't know much about all of this crystal gem business, but I know it should include trusting one another. Right?" Peridot's previously confident smile gave way to one of complete nervousness.

"Yes," Pearl said smiling, "It also includes being honest with each other." Her voice was unusually warm and motherly as if she was talking to Steven.

"But I'm telling the truth," Peridot's smiling face completely gave way to one of fear.

Pearl watched as the rain continued to fall on Peridot. Pearl began to realize just how small Peridot was compared to her. If she wanted to, Pearl could easily lift the little, green gem off the ground. Pearl began to smile even more at this realization. Without warning, Pearl reached both arms out, grabbing Peridot like a child, and lifted her above her head.

"Put me down clod! This is no way to treat a Peridot!" Peridot shouted as he thrashed and kicked in a fruitless attempt to escape Pearl's grasp.

"Want me to put you down? Then tell the truth," Pearl was amused by Peridot's efforts to get away. She saw Peridot's face begin to flush light green and her eyes avoiding contact with that of Pearl's.

"Alright. Alright," Peridot spoke softly. "I may have been spying on you."

"Why?"

Peridot was silent.

"Why Peridot?" Pearl's voice broke through the sound of the rain.

"I…I," Peridot stammered, doing everything in her power to avoid eye contact with those blue eyes that lay just below her. "I wanted to assess your acquisition of intelligence."

"What?" Pearl's voice was soft. Confusion was visible on her face.

"I wanted to see what made a Pearl like you comparable in intelligence to a Peridot like myself." At that moment, their eyes met and Pearl could see that honesty and embarrassment that lay behind them. How much had it taken her to admit this? How much had it taken her to look Pearl in the eyes? Peridot's cheeks were completely flushed as she looked nervously at Pearl.

Pearl held her for a moment longer before putting her down. Peridot didn't run away from her. Pearl told her of Rose. She told her of the universe that Rose had shown her. She told her of the books she had read while she was on earth. She told her of how hard she worked to know the things she did. Nothing was easy for her to learn, and that was the part that she had tried to hide from them all. Yet, at this moment, as the rain began to slow, Pearl felt comfortable telling her about how much work it took to understand the more intricate aspects of engineering.

"So… you are inferior?" Peridot asked. Her voice gave no indication of malice. It was an honest question.

"I WAS inferior," Pearl spoke, giving emphasis to the word was. "But I worked so that no one would be able to call me incapable."

"In that case…," Peridot paused, "I apologize for insulting you. I had no idea." Those words were difficult for Peridot to let go. It was a challenge for her to admit that she had made any form of error, but these crystal gems continue to prove her wrong.

"Let's go back," Pearl said, beginning to walk back to the temple.

"Hey!" Peridot shouted, stopping Pearl in place. Pearl turned to see Peridot once again blushing, and she was once again avoiding eye contact. "Would it be possible for you to carry me on your back? I think there's more information I can obtain about these small particles of rocks if I'm higher up"

Pearl smiled. She knew Peridot was lying to get a ride on her back. Pearl know that doing so was pointless and gave no tangible benefit to either of them. Yet, there was something about the idea of carrying Peridot on her back made her smile. It was a moment before she spoke, "Sure."

She stopped, stooping a bit to let the little gem jump on her back. In a moment, she was slowly jogging back to the temple. She could hear soft Pearl knew that the little gem perched on her shoulder was, enjoying herself.

They arrived at the temple when the rain became a soft drizzle. The door came open slowly and Pearl made sure to duck to ensure that the both of them would fit in the doorway. She put Peridot off of her back and placed her on the couch. She sat next to her until the sun rose.


	2. Chapter 2

It was morning, and the light was just beginning to cross the blinds in small rays. Steven slowly opened his eyes in response to the sunlight landing squarely on his eyelids. He blinked twice and, realizing it was morning, rolled onto his side. He yawned before looking down to discover he was holding Mr. Grizzly, a stuffed, teddy bear he had won at Funland and decided to keep.

"I thought I told you that the bed was strictly off limits," he said aloud to the stuffed animal. It had no reply.

"Alright. If it was a communication problem, I'll let it slide. But not next time," He pointed at the little brown bear with one hand while holding it with another. In a second, Mr. Grizzly was put aside to deal with something more important: breakfast.

As Steven stepped down to the first floor, he looked to the left to notice Pearl laying on the couch, sleeping. That wasn't something Steven got to see often. The last time anyone saw Pearl sleep, she accidentally projected her dream of food and Rose. What was even more strange was that Peridot, who was often held up in the barn with Lapis watching romances, was right beside her. Unlike Pearl, however, she wasn't sleeping, and Steven noticed the small, green eyes followed him across the room.

"Morning Peridot!" Steven shouted gleefully, happy to see Peridot.

The tiny gem jumped in surprise.

"Oh…um… Greetings Steven. I was just…um" She stuttered in search of the perfect lie.

"You don't have to say anything Peridot. I know what you were up to." Steven spoke slyly: the way children do when they discover some secret that is, to them, crucial. Peridot stared at him for a moment. Her eyes portraying the nervousness that filled her.

"You were having a sleepover with Pearl!" Steven exclaimed.

"What's that?" The gem responded, genuinely confused about the terminology.

"It's when you spend the night at someone else's house. You play games and tell scary stories and stuff. You should've told everyone else. It would've been WAY more fun," Steven starched his arms out to give the word way heavy emphasis.

It was another foreign concept to Peridot. She had heard of sleeping through Amethyst, but she had never tried it before. This must have been another one of Earth's odd customs, and Peridot clamored for a response.

"We'll keep that in mind for next time, Steven, but Peridot has some very important business to attend to," Pearl stepped in, awakened by their conversation. "Don't you?" She gently nudges the green gem with her elbow.

"Why yes!" Peridot responds as her eyes glow with joy at the clever ploy." I currently need to continue constructing what you humans call art. Goodbye Steve. Goodbye Pearl."

As Peridot finishes her last sentence her feet swiftly close the distance between her and the door. She hears an audible goodbye from Steven as she closes the door behind her. It is swiftly followed by Steven asking Pearl about their "Sleepover." Pearl promised Steven that she would tell him the next time they decided to have a sleepover and reminded him to he had training at 5:00.

By the time the clock read 5:00, and Pearl was patiently waiting on Connie to arrive to begin her training with Steven. Over the past few months, the two of them showed fighting skills far beyond what she expected of them. As Stevonnie, the two of them were able to hold their ground against Pearl when she neglected to hold anything back. It was a pleasure to see the two of them grow stronger together, and Garnet often watched their matches while holding her hand-made sign and chanting with childish glee.

"I'm ready," The front door swung open, and Connie stepped through with her backpack on her shoulder and pink sword far too large for her. Her face showed a mix of excitement and determination that reminded Pearl of when she was only a few hundred years old.

"Yay! Connie's here!" Steven called out unable to control his excitement. "Or should I say Stevonnie's here" Steven was now beside Connie nudging her shoulder.

"You don't need to be fused today if you don't want to be." Pearl added "Besides, I don't think humans should be fused for too long anyways. It isn't what humans typical… do."

"Oh Yea!" A purple cat at the middle of the room spoke before being engulfed by a bright light. The light took the shape of a short woman with purple skin and long white hair that covered her left eye; It was Amethyst. "Remember the time Greg told us what human 'do?'"

"Amethyst!" Pearl's cheeks began to flush a light blue hue at the memory. She took a moment to regain her composure, knowing Steven and Connie were watching her. "I think it's best if we forgot about…that. Especially while the kids are here."

"Nah. The oughta know this stuff." A smile crept across her face as Amethyst looked towards Connie and Steven. "You see. When a male human and a female human love each other very much- "

A hand on her shoulder stopped Amethyst from finishing her sentence. "Maybe now isn't the best time." Garnet said looking down at Amethyst before turning her attention to the kids.

"Oh Garnet. Did you come to watch Steven and Connie train?" Pearl asked.

"No. I actually have a mission for them." Garnet stooped down to the two of them." If you're ready that is."

Connie and Steven looked at each other for a moment considering the decision. When they turned back to Garnet, the smiles on their faces told her everything she needed to know.

"We are!" The two said in unison, their excitement illustrated in their voices.

"I'll take them off your hands, Pearl," and with that, the three of them stopped on the warp pad prepared for whatever came next. "We'll be back soon." Garnet called out as the three were engulfed in a ray of light and disappeared.

When the light faded, the trio was in the middle of a plain with grass that stretched all the way to the horizon. There were a few trees that dotted the landscape, and the grass reached up to Steven's ankles in places. The sun beat down on all three of them as they head their footsteps beat against the dry earth.

"We spotted a corrupted gem her a while ago, but it was too fast for us to poof it, "Garnet spoke as they continued on their way. "My future vision told me that I might be here again today, but you two need to be ready to catch it at any moment."

"Does that mean we should fuse now?" Steven asked.

"Yes. Yes, it does."

In a second, Steven and Connie were holding hands, and in the next, their bodies became light. The light shifted and altered. It grew until it was the height and shape of teenage girl. Her clothes slightly too small for her stature as she bore the large pink sword in her hands.

Garnet smiled widely as she clapped her hands together in delight. "Now you're ready for anything."

The two walked on. They noticed very quickly that the animals that littered the landscape were gone, and the entire plain had gone silent; there was something nearby. The pair said nothing to each other as they came to the same conclusion. Garnet has already dawned her gauntlets tipped with spikes given to her by Bismuth. Following her lead, Stevonnie reached into her exposed belly button to retrieve her shield that shone pink with rose vines that encircled the center.

In an instant there was the sound of the grass parting. The sound was distant at first, but was quickly growing louder and louder as the thing barreled towards them. From the tall grass leapt a snake- like creature, its black skin covered in patched of white, red, and green and spikes that failed to match the skin to which it was attached. Its mouth opened to reveal long jagged teeth as it attempted to bite Stevonnie.

With her reflexes, Stevonnie was able to lift her shield and the creature bounced back unable to penetrate it with its teeth. The creature landed hard against the ground and attempted to speed away before being caught between Garnet's fingers.

"Oh no you don't." Garnet spoke before pulling it apart. There was a loud pop and smoke floated up from where the creature had once been. The only thing that was left was a small black gemstone that Garnet held in her hands.

"I'll take care of it." Stevonnie said enclosing the gem in a pink orb before tapping it. After that, the gem and the bubble that enclosed it were both gone. "Now that we have that taken ca- "

"That wasn't what we were looking for." Garnet interrupted flatly as her eyes stared into the distance. She pointed with her finger, and Stevonnie followed it. She spotted the same monster miles away only much larger. Its head was barely peering over the end of the grass, but dipped back into the cover of the plain when it noticed the eyes observing it. It was gone.

"Let's go after it!" Stevonnie shouted before beginning to take off in the direction of the corrupted gem. She felt a hand on her shoulder that kept her in place.

"No," Garnet spoke in a stern matter-of-fact tone that suggested the severity of the situation was. "I'm sorry, but this gem looks more dangerous than I expected. We'll go back to the temple for help."  
"But-" Stevonnie stopped herself. She knew that there was no changing Garnet's mind after she made a decision. Besides, she was probably right.

The two of them made their way back to the warp pad, and arrived at the temple shortly after. Amethyst was sitting in the middle of the living room swallowing a bag of chips whole as the Pearl attempted to ignore her, her eye keenly focused on the warp pad.

"How did my students do?" Pearl was teaming with excitement as she approached Garnet for the news.

"They did excellent," Garnet was still speaking without emotion, "But there is something much bigger out there."

"So what? We just find it and beat it to a pulp like we beat everything else." Amethyst stood up before popping both her knuckles.

"We need to find it corner it first. More of us means more ground we can cover."

"Then let's go!" Amethyst rushed to the warp pad.

Before they left, Pearl felt something familiar. It was the sensation of two small eyes peering at her just out of sight. She immediately knew what it was.

"What did I tell you about spying?" Pearl called out towards the window. Peridot pushed the door open as if she had just arrived.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I just came here to find out what you did to the Steven." Stevonnie waved to Peridot and pointed to her belly button to indicate that Steven was in the room with them. Aside from Stevonnie, the rest of the room was shooting her skeptical looks. "At first I was spying for information. Now I'm doing it for fun." She confessed, shrugging her shoulders as she did so.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Pearl questioned.

"Nope."

"Well we're leaving so- "

"Can I come!" Peridot shouted, her eyes beaming with excitement.

"I don't know. It could be pretty dangerous." Pearl looked over to Garnet for advice. She only shrugged her shoulders in response.

"I am a valuable asset to whatever mission is at hand." Peridot stood assuming the position of a ruby solder at the ready. Her eyes sparkling with the thought of being a part of something new.

"But you couldn't even catch that other- "Pearl stopped when she noticed the eagerness that Peridot expressed. It reminded her of when she was only a few thousand years old and begging to fight alongside Rose. Rose had confidence in her. Pearl wondered why she had no faith in that little green gem. "Okay, but stay next to me." She conceded.

As they stepped onto the warp pad, Pearl felt a hand clasp for hers. The tiny fingers fit between hers perfectly, so she made no objections.


	3. Chapter 3

The gems all stood in the plain and were closely observing their surroundings. Peridot looked over to Garnet.

"Could you describe this corrupted specimen for me?"

"It was a big snake," Stevonnie answered for Garnet making a slithering motion with her two hands.

"This serpent will not escape our grasp!" Peridot shouted before jumping headfirst into the grass. She laid on her stomach and attempted to slide across the plain, mimicking a snake.

"What on earth are you doing?" Pearl said in a mixture of confusion and disgust.

"She's thinking like the monster," Stevonnie replied with a smile working its way across her face, "I taught her how to do that."

"She's got the right idea." Amethyst shifted into a snake and attempted to slither away from the group before being grabbed by Garnet. She took Amethyst's snake form in one hand and scooped up Peridot with the other. She put them down after making her plan very clear: Garnet was going to search on her own and the others were to travel in groups of two. If anyone were to spot it, they were to signal for everyone else.

The moment the two were on the ground again, Amethyst called out to Peridot, "Come on P. Let's nab that slippery snake."

"No."

The word came as a shock to the group, and there was a long pause. It was if that one word stopped time. Slowly their heads turned to the one who's voice was the source of the disturbance; It was Pearl.

"I mean…" She stammered at first, her cheeks visibly flush with that light blue tone. Pearl stopped and was able to regain her composure. "I brought her on this mission, so I should make sure nothing happens to her."

Peridot nodded in agreement before moving to her side. The rest of the group, still a bit confused and dumbfounded by the whole situation, simply attempted to go on as if nothing happened. Right before Garnet leaped into the air to leave them, Pearl thought she caught a glimpse of a smile on her face.

It took some convincing, but the pairs finally set out on foot and abandoned the idea of imitating the snake to its hiding place. A somewhat disappointed Peridot followed Pearl, continuing to insist that thinking like the monster would assist their search in some way. After a while, the conversation turned to Homeworld and Peridot's time there.

"And then she said that I didn't have the required authorization," Peridot spoke animated, with exaggerated hand movements to emphasize every point of the story. Pearl again noticed that same gleam in her eyes that came out when she asked to be a part of the mission. It was one of the things that made her listen even more intently, hanging on to each word she said. "It turns out they changed the authorization code without telling me! Honestly, who does that!"

"Yellow Diamond's personal Pearl," Pearl responded, giggling a bit at the story.

"I tell you that clod had at out for me. Every time I went to speak with Yellow Diamond or communicate with her via hologram, she's in the background doing this." Peridot closed her eyes and stuck her tongue out in an attempt to mimic the facial expression. This sent Pearl into a fit of laughter as the face caught her completely off guard.

"Oh but that's not the worst of it," Peridot continued without noticing Pearl's laughter. "Sometimes she would do this!" She formed her pointer finger and thumb into the shape of an L and placed against her forehead.

There again came laughter from Pearl as she tried to picture the scene.

"Yea. She's nothing like you."

That line stopped her laughter. She turned to the little green gem in surprise, but she wasn't looking back at her. The two stopped walking, and Pearl saw that her eyes were looking into the sky as if she were speaking to the stars that lay far beyond the planet and far beyond her reach.

"She must be a faithful pearl if Yellow Diamond insists that she be at her side, but that's all she's capable of. She doesn't communicate or learn or fight like you do. She's a pearl, but you're more than that. She doesn't understand how she can be more. None back home does. I mean, Homeworld doesn't get it. They want to destroy this Planet, they experimented on the rebels, and they treat pearls like you as servants," Peridot final turned to look at her. Her eyes were welling up with tears at the weight of the realization. "I used to think Homeworld cared. I used to think Yellow Diamond cared but…they don't." The last words were the most difficult for her to say. All of this time on Earth, she had tried to forget that fact. Yellow Diamond had abandoned her on a planet without a second thought and forgot she even existed when she sent the rubies to come after Jasper. She didn't matter to Homeworld.

"I care." The words came out almost instinctively. Pearl didn't need to think about the words because she knew that they were true. There was nothing more she needed to say, and in response, she saw a smile work its way across the little green gem's face.

The two sat there, looking at each other for what felt like centuries. A tear slowly slid down Peridot's face, and Pearl wiped it away. Peridot wrapped her arms around Pearl to embrace her.

"Come on. We still have a monster to find," Pearl spoke after a moment. Beginning to take the gem into her arms. "And I have an idea on how we can find it." At that moment, Pearl picked the little green gem up and placed her on her shoulders. Peridot was a bit surprised by the motion but did not protest as she felt something on this planet that nothing on Homeworld was able to make her feel. It was something all of her limb enhancers and powerful positions had failed to do; It made her feel big.

The two traveled like this for a little while longer before the both of them spotted an enormous black tree that managed to cast a large shadow on the ground as it blocked the sun. Its branches stretched far into the sky as if it was trying to reach the sky itself and its branches bare of leaves as though some animal decided to rip every last one off and leave no trace. The tree's odd appearance led the two to suspect that the gem was responsible for the leaves missing.

"Stay close." Pearl was assessing the situation, figuring the creature was using the tree as a home of some sort that it would return to soon if it wasn't there already. She reached into the gem on her forehead to withdraw a trident from it. They circled the tree slowly, with Pearl in front. She had her weapon pointed in front of her as she prepared for the beast to jump out at them at any second, but there was nothing.

Pearl put down her trident, assured by the monster's absence, but knowing that it wasn't far away.

"We'll wait here for a minute. It's been here, and it might come back." Pearl's voice had a hint of concern in it as the two sat next to the tree saying nothing.

"We should do this more often," Peridot broke the silence. "I am a crystal gem, so I believe that ensures that I am able to- "at that moment, she leaned against the tree, and the entire tree moved. It began to shack and shift like an earthquake was erupting under it. Pearl grabbed Peridot and pulled her away from the tree as quickly as she could. The tree began to lose its shape, and that was when they noticed the patches of different colors that stood out against the blackness and that they had failed to notice in their haste. The mass that was once a tree took on a new form as what they thought were branches retracted into its body forming a singular snake-like shape. Its mouth opened to reveal rows of teeth and several black tendrils that writhed and wiggled in the mouth of the beast.

It rushed forward, causing dust the fly in the place where it once was. Pearl held up her trident to block the attack knowing that Peridot was behind her too scared to move. The beast and the trident collided as Pearl's feet scraped the dirt and grass in an attempt to keep the monster from moving any closer.

"Get the others!" Pearl shouted at the green gem. She was struggling now, and the monster was putting all of his weight in an effort to push her back more.

"But…" Peridot stammered.

"Just let me do this for you!" Pearl shouted back. She knew she couldn't hold it forever, but she needed to protect Peridot. She needed to give her time.

Peridot obeyed and moved as quickly as her little feet could carry her., but she quickly heard a scream. She turned back to notice Pearl holding the monster's mouth up with her hands. The tentacles hidden in the monster's mouth were attempting to wrap around her. In her panic, Peridot searched the ground for the trident, and her eyes found it, but it was too far. She wouldn't be able to get it and run to Pearl in time.

Then she remembered her power. In a desperate motion, she pushed both hands in front of her. She focused as much as she could, trying to lift the weapon off the ground.

Pearl realized she had no hope of escape. The monster's tentacles were tightly wrapped around her body and she could feel their grip tighten more and more. The teeth of the beast were glistening with saliva, prepared at any moment to close in on her gem and shatter it. She thought of how strange it all was. She had fought alongside Rose in the rebellion and escaped being shattered. She fought in countless battles, but this was the one that would end her. She thought that of Rose. Maybe she was waiting for her at the end. Maybe she would be able to see her again. As Pearl closed her eyes and prepared for what came next, she felt the grip of the monster loosen.

That was when an explosion of dust and powder came. Then there was silence. When Pearl opened her eyes, she saw that laying in front of her was the black gemstone and her trident, both lying next to each other in the grass in front of her. She looked around and saw Peridot with her arms outstretched and a look of surprise on her face.

They both looked at each other perplexed for some time before the realization came. Peridot's expression of shock turned to one of delight and satisfaction.

"I did it! All metallic objects bow before me!" She began jumping up and down at her own accomplishment as Pearl still stood in awe.

"You threw it?"

"I guess you could say I threw it…" She paused for a second for dramatic effect and took the time to strike some sort of pose by squatting and placing both of her hands firmly on her forehead. "With my mind!"

"Please don't do that."

"Control metal with my mind?"

"No. Don't pose like that." Pearl's amazement declining some.

"It doesn't complement my remarkable natural abilities?"

Pearl only shook her head in response as she picked up the black gem and surrounded it in a bubble and tapping it to send both of the back to the temple. She began to walk over to Peridot, kneeling down the moment she was close enough to make eye contact.

"That was impressive," Pearl said probing the other gem to nearly jump for joy before being stopped. "But I know how to make it even more impressive."

The rest of the others came soon after overhearing the commotion. Pearl explained everything to them, and they returned to the temple.


	4. Chapter 4

Pearl was looking at the clock in the kitchen; It was 5:05. She was late, but there was no way Pearl was going to start training without her. She began to tap her fingers against the counter in anticipation, determined to wait for her for at least a little while longer. When the clock read 5:10 Pearl was ready to give up on her.

The door swung open and She only needed to hear the small, quick footsteps to know it was Peridot.

"You're late," Pearl noted shaking her head, but incapable of hiding a smile.

"I know," Peridot said with a hint of guilt before following Pearl to the warp pad.

Sitting in the middle of the Colosseum were Steven and Connie playing cards. The noticed the sound of the warp pad and looked over to see Peridot and Pearl step out. Steven was the first to reach them, wrapping the both of them in his arms for a huge hug.

"It's been so long since I've seen you," Steven whispered in delight.

"Steven. You saw me ten minutes ago." Pearl pointed out matter-of-factly but enjoying the affection. She watched as Connie came over to pull Steven aside, poking him in the side as she did so.

"I'm just so excited! Peridot's gonna be our new training buddy!"

"Yes. Yes, she is." Pear was looking at Peridot as she said it. She noticed that the eyes of her new trainee were looking up at her expectedly as if she was about to receive a highly-anticipated present.

"Should we fuse?" Connie and Steven looked at each other. They giggled when they realized they said it at the same time.

"Wait! These two can fuse?" Peridot questioned throwing her hands up in a motion of genuine confusion. "Connie isn't even a gem."

"You saw us fused when we went after that snake, remember?" Connie's hand patted Peridot's shoulder.

"I thought Steven was just shapeshifting. You know? Like what Amethyst does all the time."

"I can do that too." Steven pointed out before turning one of his fingers into a small, white cat that meowed gently when Steven brought it to the green gem's face.

"That's…disturbing."

"Enough of shapeshifting for now. And you two don't need to fuse. We'll be going through a few basic exercises because this one," Pearl gently patted Peridot's head as she spoke, "is just a beginner."

"I'm no beginner. My ability to make metal yield to my every command makes me far more than capable of the most advanced training."

"Is it?" Pearl questioned with a smug smile on her face.

"Of course, it is!" The green gem responded with a loud and confident voice.

Pearl bent down to Peridot's level moving close enough to where their faces were almost touching before whispering. "Then how about you fight me."

Peridot's began flushing almost immediately, but it was because of the way she had decided to talk to her and not because of the words themselves. Their faces were still almost touching, and so much of the confidence that the little green gem had seconds before had left her. She could feel her legs begin to shake uncontrollably as if there was an earthquake going on under her feet. Yet, there she was determined to prove herself.

"I will," The words were very soft, and Peridot did not have the strength to look her in the eyes when she said them.

Pearl's smile never faded, "What was that?"

"I said I will," These words were louder and had more force to back them. Pearl looked shocked for a moment before standing up, pulling two tridents from the gem on her forehead, and tossing one to Peridot.

"Challenge accepted," She declared before motioning her to the center of the training arena.

At this point, the two children, confused and amazed at the display, where happy with sitting back and watching with no word of complaint between them. Steven even reached into his backpack to bring out some popcorn and offered some to Connie.

"On the count of three, we come at each other with everything. One. Two…THREE!"

With that, the two lunged at each other. Before Peridot could blink, Pearl had closed the distance, and her trident was pointed firmly at the little gem's chest.

"Hit."

Peridot, whose eyes had been closed since the fight started, slowly looked up to see that she wasn't currently being skewered and sighed in relief.

"I win," Pearl said it simply with no note of boasting or superiority in her voice. It was, to her, nothing more than an expected outcome.

"I… I wasn't prepared that time. I demand a rematch."

"If that's what you want," Pearl leaped into the air and recreated the distance between the two of them before beginning the countdown once again, "One. Two. THREE!"

Again, before she could blink, Peridot was only inches away from being stabbed.

"Hit."

"Again. Something was in my eye."

This same process repeated again and again and again. After a while, the green gem was able to see the first attack coming and had a few dodges and parries ready in defense. However, it was never long before she was, yet again, mere inches way from losing her physical form. With each loss and each retry, Peridot became more determined that she could win _. Just one more time and I'll have her. This time will be it._ The thoughts that went through her head seconds before her weapon was knocked to the floor trident was at her throat gave here the resolve to keep going.

"We can stop whenever you like." The offer came after the twentieth time she asked for a rematch and after both of the kids left knowing they weren't going to get much training.

"No. We can stop whenever _you_ like."

The count of three came again and again Peridot felt the familiar sensation of her weapon leaving her hands, but this time she had a plan. With a swift movement of her wrist, the trident was falling back towards the figure in front of her. Before Pearl had a chance to declare victory, she turned to see the attack and sidestepped it. Before either of them could blink, she was again declaring victory in the same matter-of-fact tone she used several times before, but this time her face look amused. Things were finally getting interesting.

The two continued to spar, but their battles became longer and longer as Peridot became more and more used to her power. At times, she would watch Pear dodge an attack and admire the way her slender shape spun and twirled in a fight. It was like every move she made was part of a dance, and Peridot was too slow to keep up. Then she would pop back into reality and discover that she was, again, face to face with Pearl's trident.

Peridot had no idea what it was that was driving her to keep fighting, but she knew that it wasn't the thought of actually beating her opponent. She was going up against someone who trained for thousands of years through real battles that meant the difference between life and death: there was no way that she was going to win with those odds. She kept fighting anyway giving everything her all.

Again, Peridot's weapon was knocked to the grown, but before Pearl could declare herself the winner, she moved her fingers quickly to move the trident one more time. _I got her! I got her this time! Wait until she turns around to see that I finally caught her off guard!_ These thoughts ran through Peridot's mind before the trident stabbed Pearl in the back.


	5. Chapter 5

They looked at each other in shock, both of their eyes trying to convey their emotions in seconds. Pearl stumbled, her long legs losing their balance for a second before getting it back.

"I…" She stammered, the pain making it difficult to speak, "I don-,"

And then she was gone. In an explosion of smoke and mist her physical body and the weapon that pierced her had both vanished leaving only her white gem to float momentarily before falling to the floor. Peridot reached out and caught it before it could make contact with the ground and held it for a while feeling the smooth sphere in her hands before going back to the warp pad.

Garnet was standing in front of her the second the light faded. She was holding a small red pillow in her hands.

"She'll be back. It just takes her a while."

The two sat on the couch waiting neither of them speaking until Peridot put her head on the pillow and spoke to the pearl.

"I'm sorry," she whispered choking back tears. Those two words were the only things that she could offer, and that was the part that hurt the most. She wondered how much that smooth, white sphere hated her. She wanted to prove that she was capable, but all she did was hurt someone she cared about; she made Pearl hate her.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. She didn't need to turn to see who it was. Garnet's hand was firm and unflinching but warm and comforting all the same. It was exactly what Peridot needed.

"Don't blame yourself," Garnet was talking as if she already knew the details, but in truth, she didn't need to know, "We all make mistakes."

"I just- "Peridot wasn't able to hold back anymore and her eyes began to flood with tears. Her voice was hoarse making every syllable a strain on her. "I just wanted to show her what I'm capable of."

"You don't need to prove anything to anyone." Again, her voice came reassuring and soft.

Garnet stayed with her all through the night the two of them waiting for Pearl to return.

Pearl floated in an endless, dark abyss with nothing but her thoughts to occupy her. She knew she could form anytime she wanted, but she wanted to think about something before she did. She wanted to know what she was going to say to Peridot when she finally returned. However, she was still unaware of how she felt at that moment. There were several emotions she felt, and all of them felt like they were there with her floating just out of reach in the emptiness of this space.

There was surprise. It was the first thing to come to her mind because it had been a long time since Pearl was surprised by anything and it had been even longer since the surprise was in battle. She didn't know that Peridot had the ability to catch her off guard let alone the courage or furry it took to completely remove her physical form. But did she do it on purpose? That was the question that constantly came up whenever she thought about it.

What if it was? The thought of someone she cared about trying to hurt her on purpose filled her with anger. _We should've kept her bubbled_ , she thought. There was no reason to keep her on Earth. Maybe this was all a plot to gain their trust so she could eventually shatter them all. Maybe Yellow Diamond was in on the plan and they staged her "change of heart."

But why was she still alive? If Peridot wanted them all gone, she had every opportunity to do it. She could have let that corrupted gem eat her the other day. The other day. Pearl thought about the other day, the laughs, the stories, holding hands. Could it all be fake?

She remembered Peridot's words from that day: "I used to think Homeworld cared. I used to think Yellow Diamond cared but…they don't."

It was less about what she said and more about how she said it. Her face said that every word that came out of her mouth was true.

Then it was an accident. She again thought about being upset. There was no excuse for someone to be that reckless. What if she was shattered?

But then Pearl remembered her own mistakes. She remembered about lying just so she could form Sardonyx. She remembered how much Garnet hated her for it. She didn't want to put Peridot through that same pain. She couldn't.

In that moment, the dark abyss began filling with a blinding light and Pearl knew exactly what she needed to do.

Peridot was still sitting, holding the pearl in her arms. Garnet had left her hours ago leaving her to wait. She wondered about what to say to her when she got back. _I'm Sorry_ would the first thing, but what after that? She could explain everything and why it was an accident, but would she want to hear it? Would Pearl think she was only coming up with excuses? There wasn't much she could do besides hope for the best.

She turned the gem over in her hands again. She felt the smooth texture against her hands and it stayed warm. There wasn't much she could do but hope she would understand.

Then without warning the pearl began glowing. First, it was a soft radiance before growing in size and strength. The gem rose out of her hands and floated in front of her. The light grew into an all-too-familiar silhouette and within a few seconds, Pearl was back. She examined herself, making sure nothing was wrong with the form she had taken, but before she knew exactly where she was, she felt a small hand grip hers.

"I'm sorry," Peridot said her face flushed with sadness, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you I just wanted to- "

She stopped talking when she realized Pearl had wrapped her arms around her in a warm embrace. The two of them stood like this enjoying the warmth of each other bodies and neither wanting to speak in fear of breaking the spell. There was nothing that needed to be said. Everything that the two thought and felt was captured in that one action.

"I'm so happy your back," The little green gem spoke finally breaking the silence.

"I'm so happy to be back," Pearl replied never letting go of her.


End file.
